Getting Put Back Together
by young wiccan
Summary: A terrible thing befalls Mildred during her summer and she falls apart. Can a couple women help her pick up the pieces? Mildred/Constance in a mother-daughter sort of way, the same with Mildred/Imogen and some slight romance with Imogen/Constance.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, so I've decided to write a longer fic for worst witch. A key thing to note is I've invented a law sort of like the one in Harry Potter that says underage wizards can't perform magic outside of school.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fic

Just as the clock struck 6 o' clock in the afternoon, the sky over Cackle's academy was filled with young witches as they descended on their broomsticks for another school year. The few who noticed were surprised to see the headmistress and deputy headmistress standing in the courtyard. Normally, the teachers would wait until the girls had a chance to land and chat a little bit before they greeted them. As the students got closer, more and more were beginning to notice the fact that the two teachers were outside, and what's more, had very angry expressions on their face. Nobody was too surprised when Miss Constance Hardbroom grabbed the arm of one Mildred Hubble as she got off her broomstick. As the shocked Mildred was pulled into the school, most of the girls just went back to chatting amongst themselves and only her friends continued to look worriedly at the door she disappeared into.

Noticing the commotion, Miss Imogen Drill followed the three witches into Amelia Cackle's office. Noticing her, Miss Hardbroom screeched "Out!" but Miss Drill squared her shoulders and said firmly that she wasn't going anywhere until she found out why Mildred had been yanked into Amelia's office when the year had yet to begin. Miss Hardbroom was about to make a scathing reply when Miss Cackle spoke up in a hard, disappointed voice, "we really should get on with it Constance."

Reminded of the source of her original anger, Miss Harbroom rediredted her glare at the quivering girl in front of her. "Mildred Hubble. Do you have any idea why you're here?"

"No Miss Hardbroom," was the shaky reply.

"Do you remember, pray tell, what it is you were doing on the evening of July third?" the woman asked in a tone of voice that suggested that she knew that Mildred DID remember. The young girl looked at her feet sadly.

"I was...taking a walk with my parents Miss Hardbroom," she said softly.

"And why, may I ask, did this walk include magic, in a non magical area, I might add?" The teacher continued her interrogation sharply.

Miss Drill looked at Miss Cackle in confusion who explained, "As the girls are still learning how to use their magic, it is against the laws set by the witches' guild for them to perform magic without the supervision of a magical person who has finished all their schooling. As you know, Mildred here comes from a non-magical family and lives in a non-magical city so when the witches' guild was notified of the use of magic there, they were suitably alarmed." The head of the school turned her hard gaze onto the girl in question and Mildred was reminded of the time she crashed Ethel's spelled broom into the great wizard Helibore. "This is a very serious law that young Mildred has crossed," Miss Cackle finished, holding Mildred's watery gaze with her own.

"An act deserving of immediate expulsion I do believe, Miss Cackle." Miss Hardbroom too was staring at Mildred with cold eyes. \

Ignoring Miss Drill's protest, Amelia looked up at her deputy, "I am inclined to agree with you, Constance."

"But Miss!" Mildred exclaimed, tears just starting to drip down her cheeks, "Aren't we supposed to use magic in extreme circumstances?"

"Oh? And what were these 'extreme circumstances', did you stumble across another frog you suspected to be a man?" The high tone of voice that Miss Hardbroom was using successfully mocked the girl in front of her. Mildred's tears ran faster.

"I...Agatha and the other two were there."

Miss Hardbroom's eyes flashed, "How dare you try to incorporate them into your lie! You silly girl! Just because you happened to stop them twice, you think you can use them as an excuse!"

Miss Cackle looked sadly at the girl, "I'm very disappointed in you, Mildred."

"ASK ME HOW MY PARENTS ARE!" The third year suddenly screamed, sounding somewhat like a wounded animal.

"MILDRED! THAT IS ENOU-"

"THEY'RE DEAD!" Mildred screamed again, the tears gushing out of her eyes now like waterfalls.

Hearing the shocked silence, Mildred choked out in a slightly quieter voice that was interrupted, quite frequently, with sobs that wracked her entire body.

"Agatha killed them...I tried...to protect them...to use a spell...but," she let out an agonised cry and the tears somehow managed to come even faster, "it...didn't work...I didn't know...the right one...and now they're dead!" With that, Mildred's legs gave out on her. Miss Drill, who had been silent for the most part, caught the girl before she jarred her knees on the hard floor. The third year grasped onto the woman's neck with all her might and sobbed into her shoulder.

Miss Drill looked at the horrified faces of her colleagues, "I'm going to make sure Mildred gets to her room." With the strength the comes with being a physical education teacher, she proceeded to pick up Mildred, who she suspected was unable to walk, and carried her to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi, I know that I just posted the first chapter of this today but after getting an encouraging review, I decided to write an post another chapter tonight. I'm going to study some chemistry now and probably will be studying chemistry most of the day tomorrow but will hopefully take a little break to write another chapter.

Disclaimer:I do not own Worst Witch

As Imogen Drill walked through the castle with Mildred, she was glad that the rest of the girls were still outside chatting. Having toned down her crying to some slight sniffling, Mildred had told Miss Drill she could walk upstairs to her room on her own. Not quite wanting to leave the third year to her sadness, the PE teacher accompanied her to her room. From the doorway she watched, unsure as to what to do, as Mildred sat on the edge of her bed and stared blankly at the wall. It was the younger female who broke the silence.

"I couldn't save them," she said in a broken voice that tore at Imogen's heart. The girl's shoulders hunched and started to quake, "I deserve to be expelled if I'm such a horrible witch that I can't even save my own parents." Miss Drill sat down beside Mildred and put her arms around the shaking shoulders.

"Don't think like that," She said firmly, "Agatha and her cronies have had decades of experience working with magic whereas you've only had two. You can't expect yourself to beat that. You may have outwitted them twice but they were bound to hold a grudge and go after you when you least expected it." Hearing a high pitched sound, Miss Drill located the source of the noise and let the silver striped kitten out of her carrier. The teacher then picked up the cat and placed her in Mildred's lap, hoping that the animal might help distract her. Miss Drill smiled slightly as the student's hand automatically started stroking the cat's back.

Standing up, she walked to the door and glanced back, "You're probably exhausted emotionally so I'm going to tell the girls to leave you alone so you can get some sleep." Mildred nodded mutely and Miss Drill closed the door and head back downstairs. On the way, she saw the girls coming up to unpack their things. Assuming that Amelia and Constance had greeted the students, she announced that Mildred Hubble needed to be alone for the night and that under no circumstances was anybody to bother her. Enid and Maud looked ready to protest but stayed quiet once they saw how serious their PE teacher was. Ethel and Drusilla also exchanged thoughtful smirks but Miss Drill then mentioned that all the teachers were united in the fact that there would be severe consequences to any student that dared to disobey her. The two students shared a nervous look when they realise what that meant; Hardbroom.

* * *

After Miss Drill helped Mildred out of Miss Cackle's office, there was a stunned silence. Surprisingly, it was Miss Hardbroom who spoke first. "I fear I have made a huge mistake, Headmistress" she commented wearily.

The other woman slipped her glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I believe we both have, Constance...How on earth did this happen?"

"The oath. It was directed at you and this school. Agatha was under no obligation to leave Mildred alone." Miss Hardbroom spoke this darkly, not only angry at the three witches but also at herself for not anticipating this possibility.

"We're going to have to find out the whole story soon." Seeing her colleague's shocked look, Amelia rushed to assure her. "I don't mean talk to Mildred about it now, we'll wait until she's ready, but the witches' guild will have to be alerted of this."

The Deputy Headmistress nodded, "Meanwhile Headmistress, I suggest we go greet the girls."

"Yes, of course." The two headed outside to give the yearly speech to the students, new and old alike. Once all the girls were headed to their rooms, the two women made their way to the staffroom. It was not long before they were joined by Miss Drill. The woman's expression made it quite clear that she was not impressed with the way the two heads of the school handled the situation.

"Mildred is in her bed, curled up with Tabby and I've told the girls that nobody is to disturb her tonight."

"Thank you very much Imogen," Amelia smiled at her colleague, hoping to keep the two other women in the room from getting into one of their infamous fights. She was relieved-and surprised- to hear Constance say something to the non-witch that wasn't antagonistic for a change.

"Yes, the way in which you dealt with the situation was quite admirable." Imogen thought she saw a slight smile but wasn't sure.

"So, what do you suppose we do?" The PE teacher directed her question at the headmistress.

"Let her sleep," Amelia declared. "We'll see if her friends can cheer her up tomorrow and then decided how to go on from there." Nobody had any time to say anything else before Miss Bat bustled into the staffroom wearing her Inner Mongolian clothes and singing. The other three women looked at each other and reached an unspoken agreement not to mention any of what had just transpired to the eccentric chanting teacher. Instead, they all pretended like they were discussing their respective summers.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi, this is a little later than I wanted but I've got a new puppy who needs 24/7 attention and I've also started a new job.

Disclaimer: I do not own Worst Witch

Mildred woke to the knocking of her door. Thinking it was Maud telling her she had overslept, she bolted out of bed and was about to throw her clothes on when she spotted the face of her digital clock. She had half an hour until she needed to head down to breakfast. Perplexed, Mildred opened the door to find Miss Hardbroom on the other side. Remembering the woman's anger, the third year started to look scared. Miss Hardbroom was saddened to see that expression on the face of the girl in front of her.

"Mildred, I wish to apologise for my behaviour yesterday. It was deplorable and I am deeply sorry for your loss." The teen regarded the teacher with guarded eyes. Hesitating slightly, Miss Hardbroom added, "if you would like to talk to someone...my door is open." The caution in Mildred's eyes gave way to comfort once she could sense that the woman was being sincere.

"Thank you, Miss Hardbroom." If Mildred didn't know better, she would've thought that her teacher's shoulders just dropped in relief. The potions mistress nodded awkwardly before turning and striding down the hall. Feeling slightly optimistic about the coming day, Mildred got dressed and headed down to breakfast.

Upon entering, Mildred headed to the table that her friends were sitting at only to find them eyeing her curiously as she approached them. The girl felt a little uncomfortable from the looks and started to feel nervous but kept heading in their direction. She sat down and greeted them in a soft voice. Enid and Maud exchanged concerned looks at the uncharacteristic greeting. Enid was about to say something when the voice that she least wanted to hear rang out in the dining hall.

"So, is it true Hubble Bubble? You actually used magic in a non-magical area?" Ethel Hallow had made an appearance.

"I bet she only tried," Drusilla sneered, "everyone knows she can't get anything right, especially magic!" Seeing Mildred's head bow and shoulders start to shake, Enid stood up so fast her chair fell backwards with a bang.

"Get lost Drusilla!"

"Make me," was the defiant reply. "We're probably right seeing as she's not saying anything to the contrary!"

"That is quite enough, Drusilla Paddock!" Miss Harbroom's voice rang out right before she appeared in front of the girls. It was clear that she was livid as her lips were but a thin line and her eyes flashed dangerously.

Too absorbed in her grief to notice that the potions mistress had appeared, Mildred looked up at Ethel and Drusilla through a haze of tears.

"Just leave me alone!" The girl cried and fled the dining hall, plaits flying haphazardly behind her. Motioning to the girls to stay where they were, the deputy headmistress looked around until she spotted Miss Drill coming into the hall to see what the noise was about. The PE teacher's eyes zeroed in on Mildred's quickly retreating back and looked at the other teacher with a questioning gaze. Once Constance had caught Imogen's eye, she moved towards the other woman, luckily not having to move around anybody because everybody knew to get out of her way. Gesturing that they move away from prying ears, the taller woman quietly explained what had happened.

Imogen sighed, "Poor Mildred. She's trying to deal with what happened all by herself." Seeing the other woman's confused look, she carried on, "the reason she's had these two outbursts are because she's trying to act like nothing's wrong; nobody sees anything until the strain is too much for her."

Constance looked curiously at her colleague, "How on earth do you know that?"

"We had to take a psychology course in teacher's college," the PE teacher explained.

"Ah. Witches see no real need for that soft stuff; spells and potions all day long." This was said with a hint of pride. Becoming accustomed to the feeling appearing when she dealt with the taller woman, Miss Drill wasn't surprised when she started to feel a little miffed.

"Well, feel free to carry on with your all-important spells and potions. I'm going to try and figure out a way to help Mildred." The blonde huffed and walked off. Miss Hardbroom's eyebrows knitted as she looked after her colleague. Because she didn't often make an effort at friendly conversation with anybody, she wasn't aware that it was so easy to offend. Constance sighed; she was trying, she really was. Amelia's voice suddenly popped into her head as a memory worked its way to the forefront of her mind.

_Brooms can sometimes offend. Isn't that right, Miss Hardbroom?_ She hadn't paid much attention to the play on words at the time, not thinking that Amelia had meant the double meaning, but now she wondered otherwise.

Not liking the foreign experience of confusion clouding her mind, the potions mistress' brain started transforming it into frustration. Miss Hardbroom turned on her heel and headed back to the dining hall where Ethel and Drusilla had remained, albeit in fear; she knew exactly how she was going to vent her frustration.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know this isn't that long but I wanted to get something posted for you guys since it's been a while since my last chapter. I hope you enjoy**

As soon as Imogen spotted Mildred weeping in the courtyard, she changed her course and headed back to the dining hall. As much as she wanted to be there for Mildred at this time-she felt a connection with the third year- she knew that she wasn't the right person to comfort the girl. Spotting a despondent Ethel and Drusilla being led out of the hall by the strict potions mistress, Miss Drill's lips twitched as she momentarily forgot about her own beef with the older woman. She stopped in front of Enid and Maud and asked them to come and talk to her.

Confused, the two girls followed their PE teacher to a deserted corridor where they were quietly told about Mildred's situation. They both gasped when they were told about Mildred's parents and a tear slipped from Maud's eye for her friend. Miss Drill told them where Mildred was at the moment and mentioned that Mildred really needed some comforting right now. The two third years rushed off to find their friend. Knowing that this was all she could do for the moment, the blonde headed off to her office to try and think about some new sports she could introduce the girls to.

/

When Miss Hardbroom returned from her talk with Miss Drill, she marched over to the two girls who ruined Mildred's day on a regular basis, and informed them that they would be scrubbing all the cauldrons clean. They grimaced, knowing how grimy some of the cauldrons were, but didn't dare protest seeing as the potions mistress looked like she wanted to shout at them but wasn't simply because she didn't know where to start. Clearly, she wasn't above a little insult though.

"Miss Hallow, Miss Paddock, I recommend that next time, you keep your unusually large noses out of other peoples' business."

Ethel puffed herself up and was about to deliver a retort when she noticed that Miss Hardbroom looked eager to use any excuse to punish the girls more. Wisely, she kept her mouth shut. Knowing that there was no way they were getting out of this one, the two girls made their way to the potion lab and fulfilled their punishment under the watchful eye of the deputy headmistress.

/

"Millie?" The girl in question looked up to see Enid and Maud standing a few paces away, looking hesitant.

"Oh. Hi." Mildred said miserably, not having anything else to say.

"Erm...Miss Drill told us what happened," Enid softly explained. Maud suddenly rushed over and sat beside her best friend, putting her arm around her.

"I'm so sorry Millie, that's such a horrid thing to happen to you." Mildred nodded, again not having anything else to say. Enid spoke this time. "We're going to be here for you. You're our best friend and we hate to see you so upset." Hearing the immense amount of compassion in her friend's words, Mildred grabbed both of the girls and clutched them in a fierce hug.

"I miss them so much" the girl sobbed. The two other third years patted their friend's back.

"We know."

/

The fearsome potions headmistress of Cackle's academy watched the two students trudge out of her office after being forced to clean the lab until it met her perfection driven standards. Although she would be loathe to admit it, her head was spinning. Over the last couple years, Constance had fallen into a routine. Mildred would cause trouble, Constance would fix it, and then the teacher would yell at Mildred. She liked routine; it helped maintain order in her life. It was also much easier to deal with things when one knew they were coming.

This new information about Mildred had just turned her cherished routine on its head. As much as Miss Hardbroom would have liked to just carry on with her routine as though nothing had happened, her conscience simply would not allow it. She was starting to see things in a new light. In the two girls that she had just dismissed, she was starting to see a pair of mean-spirited bullies where she had previously seen only two students. Where she had previously seen Mildred as a troublemaker that was deliberately trying to give Constance an aneurysm, she now saw a young, vulnerable girl with thoughts and feelings and who was really just seeking approval.

A warmth rose in Miss Hardbroom's chest as her thoughts jumped to the time at the end of the previous year when she had almost resigned and Mildred had tried to talk her out of it. There was also the time Mildred had saved her from going over the rapids. A fierce protective urge suddenly swelled up within her, startling the witch. The woman sighed and rubbed her temples; she had never really experienced feelings like these before. She had heard about them though; the maternal instincts that women talked about having for children. Miss Hardbroom shook her head to clear it of the confusing thought. It had been a long day and she would much rather go to sleep than continue questioning herself as to why she was experiencing feelings she had never felt before for a person she had never really liked before.

Right about the time Miss Hardbroom fell to sleep, on the other side of the castle, three girls, one still crying softly, curled up together on a bed and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Okay, again, not a super long chapter but I'm trying. I wanted to post something for you guys since it's been a while since I posted the last chapter. Hopefully, once I get to uni, I'll update more.

The morning found Mildred and her friends dressing in a mildly better mood. With the combined support of her friends and her teachers behind her, Mildred felt like she could get through this. Her two friends gave her a comforting smile and the trio headed to breakfast.

/

As Davina was the one overseeing breakfast today, both Constance and Imogen were in the staff room for their morning meal. Amelia needed to do some last-minute lesson planning and so was having food brought to her office.

The two teachers still weren't on great terms so there was an awkward silence for the majority of the meal. Imogen finally spoke up. "So...erm...what did you have the two girls do as punishment?" There was no need to specify who the two girls were. Constance looked up from her tea in surprise; Imogen usually avoided initiating conversation with her. Perhaps Mildred's situation had affected them more than the potions teacher originally thought.

"I had them clean the cauldrons until they were spotless." The taller woman stated briskly. Not seeing any way to continue the short conversation, Imogen nodded and went back to her porridge. Realising that she has quickly put a stop to the PE teacher's attempt at a conversation, Constance racked her brain for something to say. "...How was Mildred?" Imogen looked up and the corners of her mouth twitched upward. Constance felt like she had just done a good deed.

"I decided that what Mildred needed the most at that moment, were her friends, so I informed Enid and Maud of what happened." The taller woman nodded,

"That should take care of that, then." The blonde looked startled,

"Oh, this isn't the end of it. Mildred is still going to need all of our support in the weeks to come. You can't expect her to just get over the deaths of her parents like that..." Remembering her hurt from the previous day, Imogen added, "...yet another thing we learned in our _soft_ psychology class." A shadow of shame flitted across Constance's face.

"No...of course not...I can't possibly expect that from her," the potions mistress mused softly. Imogen guessed this was the closest the other woman would come to admitting that she was wrong. The school bell rang, signalling that students should be heading to class by now, and interrupting anything more the two women were going to say. Constance stood up sharply, cursing Mr. Blossom for installing the darn contraption. She had to admit though; students were not tardy as often this year. The two women headed to their respective classes.

/

Mildred watched as Miss Hardbroom started writing instructions on the board for her class. The girl wasn't quite sure where she stood now with the teacher, but she felt a new desire to be on good terms with her. Knowing that this meant doing well in potions class, the girl transferred her attention from her teacher to the words on the board. With a new vigour, Mildred started copying down the notes into her book.

As the class got down to work, Constance was pleased to note that Mildred's head was down as well, instead of her usual daydreaming routine. Deciding to make a conscious effort not to pick on Mildred, the potions mistress started her lecture.

For the second half of the class, they were making the potion they had just learned about. Mildred was delighted to note that she only had to be reprimanded by Maud once for almost putting the wrong amount of ingredient in and her potion ended up turning out just as good as the others'. It seemed that paying extra attention during the lecture paid off. Mildred left the potions lab beaming; she had gotten approval from HB.

"Good job, Millie!" Enid congratulated her friend as they headed to spells. Ethel and Drusilla, who were walking nearby, stuck their noses in the air and sniffed,

"Lucky chance." They were clearly still cowed from their punishment as they normally would have said something much nastier.

Spells went well for Mildred; by the third try she was able to transform her book into a pen. Miss Cackle, who had not been as involved with helping Mildred as Miss Hardbroom and Miss Drill had been, kept looking at the student to see how she was doing. The headmistress was relieved to note there seemed to be no lingering sadness in the girl's behaviour. Of course, she knew that, that did not necessarily mean that it wasn't there, but it was good news nonetheless.

/

Lunch, chanting, PE, and Dinner passed relatively uneventfully for Mildred and soon enough, she dound herself climbing into her bed with Tabby curled up a purring on the pillow. Nudging the cat aside slightly, Mildred put her head down and gave a relieved sigh; she could do this.

A/N: Okay, so the story will start moving along faster next chapter; there's going to be a time jump. I just have one question for you guys from the UK; is there a type of Thanksgiving in England? Would there be holidays that the girls get before the Christmas holidays? Thanks


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - Thanks for all the helpful comments about british holidays, you guys! As you will see, I chose one

There was an excited buzz in the air at Cackles as the girls talked about what they would do for their three day holiday; Bonfire night. Although the holiday was celebrated by both magical and non-magical folk alike, each celebrated it for a different reason. The magical community celebrated the defeat of the feared dragon lord by the wizard Merlin, and Bonfire night commemorated the great pyre that finished him off. Ironically, he died the same way his victims had.

For children from magical families, this meant a special ritual of celebration. For children from non-magical families, it was simply three days off from school to see their family. For Mildred, it marked a source of dread. For the first bit of term, she had been sufficiently distracted with work-especially now that she was trying so hard to impress Miss Hardbroom,-but now she was two days away from the day all her classmates would be going home to their parents, and she was on the edge of tears. Her friends tiptoed around her all day, not knowing how to cheer her up. Miss Bat noticed her student's melancholy and, not knowing what the other teachers did, tried to cheer her up with a chant about Bonfire night. Seeing that Mildred was about to burst into tears, Maud quickly exclaimed that her friend wasn't feeling well and that she would make sure that Mildred got her rest. They were out the door before Miss Bat finished her well-wishing.

Enid joined her two friends at lunch and found Mildred teary-eyed but otherwise okay. Maud was rubbing slow circles on the girl's back, "It will be all right, Millie."

Upon seeing the trio, Miss Bat flounced over, "Are you feeling better, Mildred?". The girl in question attempted to smile at her chanting teacher.

"A little, Miss."

"I insisted she come down, Miss. You know the saying, 'feed a cold, starve a fever'," Maud chimed in.

Miss Bat clapped her hands in front of her and stated in a typically dramatic manner, "How wonderful that she has such a devoted friend to help her in her time of need." With that, she floated over to the next table.

Enid smirked at her usually honest friend, "Well I'll be, I didn't know you had it in you, Maud."

Maud rolled her eyes and whispered fervently back, "I can tell a little fib just as well as the next person."

Mildred let out a little laugh at her friends' antics. They both looked at her, surprised. She gave them a watery smile, "Thanks guys." The trio shared a hug.

/

On the other side of the castle, in the staffroom, a witch sat staring into her tea contemplating the upcoming holiday. As she had no family, Constance often stayed at the castle, but now it seemed her mind kept returning to a vision of the same sad eyes. Like her eccentric colleague, the potions mistress had not failed to see that Mildred was struggling to keep her emotions in check. The idea of inviting the girl to spend the holiday with her had occurred to her and now Constance was mulling it over. Those new motherly emotions had been pestering her but a still-large part of her mind was demanding that she go back to treating Mildred like the infuriating girl she was. _But she's not,_ a voice in her head cut in, _not really_. She sighed; maybe she would go see how the girl was faring.

The potions mistress made her way to the dining hall and looked over at the table Mildred usually sat at. She was startled at the spark of warmth she felt as she watched Mildred smile at something her friends said. Assured that the girl was doing better, Constance headed over to the staffroom. Imogen and Amelia were already there having tea, a half-eaten piece of cheesecake sitting in front of the headmistress.

"Ah, Constance!" The woman exclaimed upon seeing her deputy, "Imogen and I were just chatting about Bonfire night. I've noticed in past years that you tend to remain here for the time. " The way in which she looked down through her glasses showed how she wasn't entirely pleased with said fact. Constance redirected her attention when Imogen started to speak.

"I was just mentioning to Amelia that I might see if Mildred would like to spend the holiday with me."

"Don't you think that is highly inappropriate, Miss Drill?" Constance inquired sharply. The PE teacher drew herself up, miffed at the tone of voice used.

"Not, given the circumstances."

The two women held gazes for a moment before Constance admitted, "then I must concede that I too, have had such thoughts." Amelia's eyebrows went up at the suggestion of an agreement between the two.

"How interesting," she exclaimed. "Perhaps," the headmistress continued, getting an idea, "you might consider both spending the holiday with Mildred. It seems fitting seeing as, if my memory serves me correctly, all three of you have no family to spend it with." The two women looked conflicted about the idea. Finally, Constance stated that she would think about it, and disappeared.

A/N - Sorry again for it being short...and overdue...way overdue .


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi guys! Sorry, it's been so long. I am now on summer break so hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up soon. I hope you enjoy this.**

Mildred tried her best to appear cheerful as she watched her year mates fly out of the courtyard one by one. She wasn't so sure that Maud or Enid bought it but they held their tongue, for which she was grateful. Once she was the only person remaining in the courtyard, Mildred sighed and prepared herself to spend the weekend in her room. She didn't want to admit that she would probably spend the weekend moping, but...well...she probably would.

Given the somewhat darker direction her thoughts were going, the young witch was quite surprised when there was a flash of teleportation right in front of her; so surprised, in fact, that she flung herself backwards and landed rather spectacularly on her bum. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, Mildred looked up at the narrowed eyes of her potions mistress, who was currently looking down her nose at the startled girl.

"Oh, do get up girl!" Mildrid shot up and stood with her arms glued to her sides; she knew not to dally when given an order in that voice that seemed to lash through the air towards her.

"I..I'm sorry Miss Hardbroom...I suppose I thought you would already be gone."

The woman's lips thinned out, "hm...yes, well...it appears that, that is not the case." Mildred remained silent waiting for her teacher to say whatever she came to say, however the older witch seemed to be lost in thought. To the girl's surprise, Miss Hardbroom seemed to shake herself after a moment.

"Mildred Hubble," she began, in a shrill voice that suggested uncertainty, a fact which shocked Mildred even more as she didn't think her potions teacher was ever uncertain. "Miss Drill and I have a preposition for you. Oh, don't look so surprised girl! I do, on occasion, get along with my coworkers." Mildred had to look down to hide the smile that was threatening to show.

"As I was saying, Miss Drill and I..." Miss Hardbroom looked distinctly perturbed at the fact that she was grouping herself with the non-witch, despite her previous words. "...will be spending bonfire night at her cottage...and thought you might be amenable to joining us." The potions mistress finished her sentence with the look of someone who had just finished sucking on a lemon. Despite this, Mildred felt a spark of warmth.

Taking the lack of violent refusal as an agreement, Miss Hardbroom spoke again, "Be present in this spot in an hour with your things packed. I trust that three days away will not require your entire collection of worldly possessions." With that, she disappeared, leaving Mildred to smile at thin air. Although she wasn't so fond of it when it was constantly directed at her, the young witch did find that her potions teacher could be quite funny in her, in her dry, sarcastic way.

/

Miss Drill entered the staff room to see the potions mistress drinking tea, back straight and eyes staring straight ahead. The blonde placed her hands on her hips, irritated by the insufferable calm that her colleague seemed to always have. "Well, did she agree?" Constance took another sip of tea, eyes still staring straight ahead.

"She didn't refuse." Imogen sighed, exasperated.

"Did you even ask her permission?" The only visible movement was the eye, flicking towards the PE teacher in irritation. Imogen rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in defeat before going to fix herself a cup of tea.

/

The two teachers arrived in the courtyard to see Mildred holding a small bag, the basket containing her cat, and her broom. Constance cast a distasteful look at Tabby but deigned not to say anything. It was understandable that Mildred would want to keep her beloved pet close.

"Miss Drill will travel via bicycle and we shall follow along on our brooms. Any questions?" Without waiting for an answer, the older witch mounted her broom and motioned for Mildred to do the same. Once the non-witch had fetched her bike, they were off.

After travelling for an hour, the trio arrived at a small cottage on the coast of England. The scenery was beautiful and Mildred spent a few minutes just taking it all in. Upon dismounting, Constance glanced around with her normal calculating stare.

"Well, at least we got here before dark." Imogen, who had just rested her bike on the nearby fence and was puffing from the long ride, glared at the taller woman.

"You both sat on brooms the whole time so I don't know what you're complaining about," the blond said waspishly. A little taken aback, Constance stayed silent while they entered the cottage and put their belongings in their respective rooms. Imogen volunteered to make dinner and they ate outside, enjoying the ocean breeze that was coming off the water. Once she had finished her dinner and dabbed around her mouth with her napkin, Constance made an attempt to extend an olive branch to her colleague.

"That was a lovely meal Miss Drill, thank you again for inviting us to your cottage."

"As we are no longer at the school, please call me Imogen." The non-witch made sure to look at both Constance, and Mildred to make sure that the girl knew that she was being included in the request. Constance nodded curtly.

"Of course."

By the time the three had finished their dinner and helped with the clean-up, the sun had set and it was decided that they would go to bed. The next night would provide plenty of opportunity to stay up late. As they laid down in their temporary beds, each of the three had a specific thought going through their head. Imogen and Constance were both wondering how they would spend two days with the present company while Mildred was simply wondering what would happen in the coming two days.

**A/N: I'd like to ask you guys a question about my writing. I like to refer to the characters by different terms so I'm not just using their names over and over again, because that just sounds boring and redundant. I want to know, are the terms I'm using okay? Or are they a bit too much? Also, I tried to go from referring to them by their last names at the school when students were around to referring to them by their first names when they were alone and away from the school. Does that work? Thanks. Please feel free to give critiques.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, it took a while to decide on where I was going to take this but here you go. Because I try so hard to keep the characters as in character as possible, I've been finding it difficult to write them when I've taken them so far out of the normal situations they are in, in the show.**

Constance was staring out the window at the early morning mist with a cup of tea in her hand when Imogen stumbled past her and into the bathroom. She continued watching the rolling of the mist just above the surface of the water and only turned around when her cup was drained. Imogen was looking at her curiously from her place leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.

"Are you always this composed?"

"I should like to think so," was the crisp reply. The blonde smiled and shook her head before turning towards the kitchen. Constance was startled to realise how charming she found that smile.

Mildred entered the small kitchen to see her two teachers chatting quietly to each other. She smiled slightly when she noticed that her potions mistress, while still looking aloof, at least seemed to be getting on better with their host. The phys ed teacher looked up and spotted Mildred.

"Well, aren't we up rather early?"

"Yes," Miss Hardbroom turned her calm gaze on the girl, "What IS the occasion?" Mildred giggled. When she wasn't using her sarcasm to make the girl feel small, the deputy headmistress was actually quite funny. The aforementioned woman looked at Miss Drill with both eyebrows raised and a slightly horrified expression on her face. The blonde woman covered her mouth so as not to let escape the little laugh that was threatening to come out.

Recovering, Miss Drill over to a cupboard and started rummaging around, "How does kippers and toast sound?"

"That sounds lovely, Miss." Seeing the pointed look, the young witch corrected herself, "er...Imogen." As Imogen went back to preparing breakfast, Mildred sat across from Miss Hardbroom and attempted to make conversation.

"Do you always get up early, Miss?"

"Yes, Mildred." Was the succinct reply. Mildred was not deterred.

"Is it a habit? Or do you-"

"I simply enjoy the peace and quiet, Mildred." Miss Hardbroom cut off the chain of questions before it could expand exponentially.

"Oh," Somehow, the fact that the girl was successfully discouraged from barraging her teacher with more questions did not leave Constance as lighthearted as she expected. Deciding to humour the girl who she was seemingly starting to care about, the potions mistress asked,

"And why are you up so early, Mildred? I daresay, if we were at school, you would be stumbling into the dining room at an hour much later than this."

"Um well, I was woken up by Tabby...He's not sure he likes being in a strange place." Mildred looked at her hands as she said this.

"Mildred," Imogen stated softly as she slid into the seat beside the girl, "I think it would be best if you were honest with us." The young witch hesitated before replying shakily in a near-whisper,

"...I've been having nightmares...they are what wake me up early."

"And what have these nightmares been about, exactly?" Miss Hardbroom asked while placing her teacup down on the saucer.

"Er..." But when Constance's eyebrow raised almost to her hairline, the frazzled girl decided it was best to keep talking. "It's them." She stated softly, looking down at her folded hands, "It's always them."

"You mean your parents?" Imogen pressed gently.

"Of course she means her parents you do-" The deputy headmistress snapped her head back forward and pursed her lips. Right now was not the time. She ignored the glare she was being sent by the blonde.

"Yes," Mildred had completely missed the near-confrontation, as she was so lost in thought. Seeming to remember herself, she looked up and smiled shakily at her teachers.

"It's fine, really. They're just nightmares."

"Clearly, they are not _fine_ Mildred, or you would be keeping the same routine as always." The girl bit her lip and looked at her lap before lifting her gaze back to her companions.

"I think…that is…I'd really like a walk." Mildred stood up and hurried towards the door. Constance did not like to be dismissed and was going to stand up when a hand rested on her forearm. She turned slightly to her colleague and glanced down at the hand before levelling her stare back at the owner of said hand. Imogen did not back down, nor did she remove the hand.

"Although she is starting to come to terms with things—quite admirably I might add-she still needs a lot of space." The blonde leaned back in her chair and looked at the other with a knowing gleam in her eye. "You are starting to care for her," it was a statement rather than a question. The deputy headmistress glanced sharply at her colleague, only to get a raised eyebrow in return. She looked straight ahead again.

"Perhaps there is some truth in that statement." Imogen smiled slightly.

"You know, there is nothing wrong with you feeling that way, not at all." She said kindly, "Mildred is really a lovely girl."

"She certainly has her moments," Constance acquiesced. The phys ed teacher beamed at her and she once again found herself being much more affected by it than she would have thought.

The shorter woman seemed to gather herself and replaced her hand on the arm that it had fallen off. The arm twitched slightly at the sudden return of physical contact, but otherwise lay still.

"Perhaps we should go for a walk ourselves, get to know eachother a little better?" This was asked in a hesitant nervous tone and the potion mistress found herself unable to refuse. They were soon walking along the shore, watching the now fogless waves roll along the sand.

**A/N: I think the next chapter will be the last. I'm running out of ideas and subsequently, motivation, but don't want to leave you guys hanging any longer than I already have. By the way, thank you so much for all the amazing reviews. I have really low self-confidence when it comes to my writing so it is tremendously helpful to have my fears assuaged.**


End file.
